In the world of normal people (you know, the one’s who don’t pay ridiculous premiums for dive watches that can go to depths of 12000ft, when the deepest water they’ll ever see is the shallow end of a swimming pool)… in the world of such people, the Datejust is Rolex’s biggest selling watch by a country mile. I’ve been lucky enough have owned quite a few very nice vintage references – in fact, I thought I always would but after the last one went I found that I had absolutely no desire to replace it. In fact, it served to vindicate my decision to let it go. Funny that, I’ve never really been able to work out why I went off it, but I just did.

Anyway, I recently decided to give the new, larger (41mm) DJII a try and I was really blown away by the feeling of quality, the wrist presence and by the particular dial I had on mine (silver with baton markers). I was thrilled with it, but at the same time I thought it might be a little big for my wrist; however, once more the stars lined up for me and I managed to snag an as-new 116200 (that is, the new 36mm DJ) with virtually the same dial configuration; at the same time, I moved the DJII on to a friend, who I know will love it.

So, all is well with the world, in that I have a DJ again; and it’s both very classic and very contemporary at the same time. Good, that 🙂

I admit that I’m in love with the Sea-Dweller in all it’s guises – my only sadness is that I had to let the Triple 6 go to fund the Great White.

I’ve looked for the right white/tritium dialled Explorer II for a long time!

Well, I’m certainly happy this morning – after all the chopping and changing of late, the ins and outs have come to an end for now with a watch arrival that resolves one of my more painful regrets over the last couple of years.

The “Great White” Sea Dweller was released in 1977, and achieved it’s monicker as a consequence of Rolex’s decision to do away with the red font on the DRSD and replace it with… well, white. Also gone was the reference to the Submariner on the dial and the engraving on the case back was changed slightly. However, to my knowledge the same case was used and of course they came with the wonderful Tropic 39 Superdome crystal.

This one dates to 1980, and has a NOS crystal to set off the flawless dial (a Mark II, identifiable from the italic “ft” and “m” and the closed 6). The case is in great shape with fat lugs and sharp bevels, and the only think it could do with is an insert change as it’s wearing a service replacement. In fact, I’ve already bought a ghost insert for it, which should give the watch a pretty unique appearance.

I’m absolutely thrilled with this – my last Great White was a beauty but I actually think this one is even nicer. It’s pretty obvious that I’ve moved away from vintage Rolex sports watches for now, but to my mind the 1665 is the greatest watch that Rolex have ever produced and the opportunity to acquire another was irresistible.

The Milgauss is one of the more interesting watches in the Rolex line-up, and also one of the most underestimated. It’s history goes back some 60 years, when (according to some sources) Rolex was commissioned by CERN to produce a watch that could be safely worn by scientists that were working in the field of electromagnetic technology (see what I did there?) – something that was becoming increasingly commonplace. Now, the problem was that mechanical watches are regulated by a balance wheel and hairspring, and magnetic fields don’t do them any favours. In fact, a watch that’s been subjected to a magnetic field will often run too fast or too slow; in fact, if the force is strong enough, it’ll likely stop running altogether.

Rolex’s answer to this problem was the original Milgauss, released in 1954 at much the same time as IWC released the first Ingenieur – another watch designed with antimagnetic properties. Both utilised a Faraday Cage to enclose the movement, the idea being that it would divert a magnetic field and protect the environment inside it (which included the balance wheel and hairspring). In fact, the name “Milgauss” is derived from the French word mille (meaning 1,000) and gauss (the unit of meaurement for the strength of magnetic fields), and the Milgauss was able to withstand fields of up to 1000 gauss.

The early models were not particularly popular, and production actually ceased in 1988. However, the line-up included one watch that is now a vintage classic – the 1019, which these days can go for upwards of £20k in decent condition…

As well as the original 6451 (check out the lightning-bolt second hand… look familiar?)

So, fast forward a few decades and we come to the current line-up – three models of quite different appearance but all featuring the same technology. Inside is a calibre 3131 movement that’s unique to this model (and which is essentially a thinner version of the 3130); a Blu Parachrom hairspring which is completely resilient to magnetic interference; and a Faraday Cage/inner case back – just to make absolutely sure of it’s antimagnetic capabilities. Aside from that, though, it really is a quite beautifully engineered watch, with a fit and finish that puts some of the other models to shame. It’s heavy too – heavier even than the Sea dweller, whilst still being supremely comfortable on the wrist.

The reason that I’m wittering on about the Milgauss is actually because I picked one up today; not quite on impulse as I’ve been looking at them for a while now (and made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to buy one previously). It somehow manages to be both sporty and dressy at the same time, and the GV (with a green-tinted crystal) as also unusual enough that you won’t see anything else even vaguely similar. I’m really happy with it, especially as this one came unworn and fully-stickered as genuine NOS. Anyway, here’s a few shots taken very quickly when I got home this afternoon, and before I popped out again for dinner. I’ll take some more at some point with a little more care and attention to lighting, but I think these give a pretty good impression of just how nice a watch it is. Oh, and you’ll see that it also has an engraved case back – the only Rolex aside from the Sea Dweller to do so.

I’ve found that, of late, I’ve been suffering from sports watch overload. I’m drawn towards complications anyway, and more and more towards dressier styles of watch.

Over time, I’m intending to reduce my collection to seven watches; three of them will be at the dressier end of the scale and will include two JLC’s (the Perpetual Calendar and the Grande Reverso Sun Moon that’s due to arrive next week). The other will be this one, which I picked up today and have taken some first shots of. It’s an incredibly difficult watch to photograph, actually, and using high-power strobes just makes the task harder. As a first attempt, though, it’ll do.

Now, three from seven leaves four, and that’s going to be really tough.